Mary Elin Freeman

Mary passed away April 2, 2017, after a 12-month battle with metastatic lung cancer (and being a non-smoker her entire life). 

Mary was Born September 1, 1954 to loving parents Larry and Mary Freeman.  She grew up in rural Blaine, spending her happy childhood surrounded by farm animals, her brothers Larry, Jerry, and Tim, and tons of cousins.  She graduated from Blaine High School in 1972, keeping in touch with many classmates since Kindergarten.

Her first “real job”, in high school, was at Stafholt Icelandic Old Folks Home.  She was proud of her 100% Icelandic heritage, visiting the country in 1977, and baking many a Vinaterta and frying lots of Kleinur.  She was a proud member of the Blaine Icelandic Heritage Society and was able to converse in Icelandic.  What else would we expect of a descendent of Ragnar Lothbrok?

Her main career was 30 years in customs brokerage working with an awesome group known as “The Fritz Family”.  She attended Bellingham Technical College, earning a degree in Baking and Pastry in 2001.  This eventually led Mary and a coworker/friend, Silva Gore, on a wild adventure opening the Seaside Bakery Café in Blaine in 2004, where they served “the best buns in town”.  She undeniably inherited her knack for baking from her mom, who was famous for her cinnamon rolls, bread donuts, and turd cookies, among other delights.

After leaving the bakery she worked with another brokerage group of friends at A & A Contract Customs Brokers, until retirement in May 2016.  She enjoyed travel to Europe- France, Spain and Italy.  A lover of all things French, she was still studying the language with her little French class of 20 years, Catherine and Virginia.  They made a lovely trip together going from Giverny (crepes for lunch) to Mont Blanc in the Alps.

We will all miss her unique sense of humor, her ability to find a song to pair well with any conversation, and her expertise as family historian.   With such a large family, it was no small feat to keep track of how we are all related, but she was a wealth of knowledge.

A memorial gathering for Mary will be held on Saturday, May 13 from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. at the American Legion Hall in Blaine, WA.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Whatcom Hospice Foundation.